Elephant

The White Stripes

Record Label: (XL)

To save us from psychic death, the Good Lord occasionally sends down a pure, dirty rock'n'roll album to sweep aside all the MTV/satanic bilge. And lo, we should thank him for Elephant, a truly liberating beast.
Opener 'Seven Nation Army' depicts a seething Stripes shunning the hype-hungry showbiz maw - which chewed them up last year - and drawing their anger around them. 'Black Math' then violently unleashes it all in a torrent of despair, which swerves with such brilliance you'll be dancing to the hate. It's astounding and sets up this remarkably raw and typically diverse album.
'I Want to be The Boy' and 'You've Got Her in Your Pocket' are Beatles-esque in their beautiful, sad simplicity. The horny underside? 'Ball and Biscuit' begins as a subtle erotic sashay, then grabs you by the hair and throws you screaming off Hendrix mountain in a frenzy of sexual torment.
These are dark, painful songs about love and life from Jack and indie starlet/sister/wife Meg, but they're attacked with such verve and ingenuity it's totally thrilling. This is Little Richard screaming 'Tutti Frutti', this is Jerry Lee Lewis humping his piano with 'Great Balls of Fire', this is angry, sexy, timeless rock'n'roll. Buy this album and save your soul.